Teen Titans: Children of a Dynamic God
by Rex84
Summary: The arrival of a mysterious package leads to the Titans meeting a very special girl. A little romance in later chapters for the one Titan who never seems to get any play? Romance and humor and action. And an OC too, but a cool one.
1. UPS shipment of mystery

This is where I'm supposed to say that I don't own the Teen Titans, right?

I don't own the Teen Titans.

... but I do own the Tennessee Titans.

Teen Titans: Children of a Dynamic God

ch. 1

Darkened halls lit themselves. Air conditioners switched on automatically. Towering doors shifted and slid aside.

The Teen Titans, Robin, Starfire, Beast Boy, Raven and Cyborg, collectively shuffled through the door of their home.

"Oh man," Cyborg groaned, "So glad to be home. So very... very glad."

"We would've been here a lot quicker if you'd have let us ride in the car." Beast Boy said. He morphed into a dog and shook himself violently, sending purple droplets spattering onto the walls, and his teammates.

"Hey, watch it!" Robin cried out. "And leave your shoes outside the door, all of you!"

"Plasmus ate my shoes..." Starfire whimpered, wriggling her goo-dripping toes.

"No one rides in the car when they're covered in Plasmus!" Cyborg growled. "Not even me!.. _Raven, Starfire, one of you needs to fly me out to pick it up tomorrow._"

"Is there some room in the budget for, I don't know... special battle armor?" Raven muttered. "Or at least some raingear... something...?"

"That... might not be a bad idea actually," Robin said as he wrung out his cape, "... of course if the cops could just keep Plasmus from breaking out..."

"If they could do that then when what would they need us for? We would be out of a job." Starfire sighed. "That is 'looking on the bright side', yes?"

"The only bright side is that we buy our shampoo in bulk." Beast Boy said. "Speaking of which, if anyone needs me I'll be in the shower."

"Same here," Raven said as she floated toward the hallway, bits of Plasmus still dripping from her, "but if anyone needs me... I dunno, call Zatanna or something. I'm going to do my best to drown in a tub full of hot bubbles."

"Hey, was anyone expecting a package?" Beast Boy asked.

The Titans looked to the kitchen counter as one. Sitting upon it was a medium-sized cardboard box, covered in tape and postage.

"Not mine, don't care." Raven's voice drifted off as she floated down the hall.

"It looks too small to contain a bunch of demonic puppets so I don't care either at the moment." Robin said. "Any radiation Cyborg?"

"Nope." Cyborg eyed the box. "No return address either."

"Then I really don't care. See you all in the morning."

"Dude... so the mailman lady can just, come into the tower?" Beast Boy asked.

"Yeah man, it's easier that way, trust me."

----------

"If anyone needs me, I shall be in the shower." Starfire's melancholy voice drifted off as she floated down the hall, a trail of smoke wafting behind her.

"That guy was so awesome!" Beast Boy shouted. "He was all like 'Dragonball Z' shooting energy balls from his palms!"

"Yeah," Cyborg said, "it was a shame we had to beat him up."

"Eh, he'll be back," Raven muttered, "after he's 'completed his training' and 'attained a new level of power' and all that other stuff he said... me, shower, now."

"No one's opened that box yet?" Robin asked. "It might be important you know."

"Aw, let's worry about it tomorrow." Cyborg yawned. "I'm beat. Someone wanna check on Starfire and make sure she's still not, you know... aflame?"

"God, how long does it take that chi energy stuff to wear off anyway?" Beast Boy muttered. "She's been on fire for like, twenty minutes now. Should we take her to the hospital?"

"She'll be okay," Raven yawned as she floated out of the room.

The box sat on the counter, casting a long shadow.

----------

"Okay," Raven growled, wringing a purple puddle onto the floor from her cape, "I'm totally writing a letter to the Attorney General if they let Plasmus break out again."

"Thanks for letting us ride in the car Cy."

"Eh, no prob," Cyborg sighed, "can't fight fate can you?.. _my poor floormats_ _choke!_..."

"Star," Robin blushed a little, chewed his lip, "ummm... your skin's growing back nicely."

"Oh thank you Robin!" Starfire beamed. "It is isn't it? The skin grafts have really helped!"

"Hey, has anyone opened that..."

"Don't even start with that frikkin' box again!" Raven snapped. "I don't care about the damn box! Let it remain forever unopened!"

"Fine, it's not like I care," Cyborg shrugged, "if anyone needs me I'll be in the shower."

----------

"You can't do it. You're gonna fail. You're totally gonna fail."

"Dude, screw you! Stop trying to psyche me out!"

"You're gonna puke dude. You're gonna spew!"

"Okay, what the hell are you two up to now?" Robin asked as he walked into the kitchen. "And why do I have the feeling I should put a stop to it?"

"No!" Cyborg and Beast Boy cried out in unison. The two were sitting on opposite sides of the counter. A glass of frothy green liquid sat between them, radiating quiet menace.

"Cyborg questioned my manhood," Beast Boy grimaced, his eye twitching, "I must prove myself..."

"By drinking that... well, I don't know what the hell it is but it looks questionable."

"Yes!" They both responded.

"It figures," Robin winced and rubbed his temples, "And you two don't think we should stop this?"

Raven and Starfire sat on either side of the boys, watching intently.

"Oh no Robin!" Starfire exclaimed. "One must never interfere with a rite of passage! On my homeworld of Tamaran, when a young man comes of age he must strip naked and walk into the fungal caves of Kreldor, where he will face the three Spooblos of fate! If the spooblo he picks then turns a reddish brown color along it's midsection, he must then quest to..."

Robin sighed and turned to Raven. "And what about you Gothika? Haven't you told me about a thousand times that you were too mature for their stupidity?"

Raven, her chin resting atop her palms, stared at the glass. "I watched Cyborg mix this thing up. I... I can't miss this."

Robin dropped his face in his hand, then turned to Beast Boy. "Dude... you're playing right into his hands, don't you see that?"

"No one questions Beast Man's boyhood... I mean, my manhood."

"And what else do you get out of this, besides food poisoning and more nights crying yourself to sleep?... we can all hear you, you know..."

Beast Boy grinned at Robin. "Loser, I mean, Cyborg... has to open the box of mystery!"

Robin's eyebrow arched. "Okay... I'm in. What odds are you giving, Raven?"

"Five to one Beast Boy vomits himself into unconsciousness. Two to one he cries afterward."

"Dude! I'm not gonna cry!"

"I'll take some of that action." Robin handed Raven ten bucks.

"_Bastards..."_ Beast Boy muttered.

"Okay BB, enough stalling," Cyborg grinned, "It's now or never!"

Beast Boy took a deep breath and picked up the glass. He set his jaw and narrowed his eyes.

"Chug, chug, chug!" The other Titans chanted.

----------

"Oh my god I can't believe he did it!"

"Starfire, give me your boot."

"Okay Raven, but why?"

"I'm going to throw up in it..."

"Dammit! I can't believe he did it! Did anyone actually bet on him?"

"Ooh, I did!" Starfire beamed. "I believed in your manhood Beast Boy! Remember that time I walked in on you while you were changing into your jammies? I saw your manhood then!"

"Thanks Star. _Urp_!"

"You are welcome Beast Boy! Now... 'pay up bitches'!"

Grumbling, the Titans handed over wads of cash to Starfire, who was giggling with excitement thinking about her next trip to _Hello Cutie_.

"Well, I think Beast Boy proved that he is indeed a man, or close enough." Cyborg said as he stood. "I gotta go work on the car. Call me when the pizza gets here."

"Wait! Get back here tin man!" Beast Boy sneered. "You're not weaseling out of this!"

Cyborg whimpered. "But I don't wanna!"

"Tough! I drank that godawful thing that I don't even wanna think about what was in it and now you gotta open the box of mystery!"

"He's right Cy," Robin said, "You gotta pay your dues if you wanna sing the blues."

"And you know it don't come easy." Raven said, then blinked and slapped herself. "... If anyone needs me I'll be in the shower."

"Okay," Cyborg sighed, "Bring it over here and I'll do it up right."

"Oh my god," Robin sneered as he picked the box up off of the coffee table. "Whose toenails are these sticking to this thing?"

"They wouldn't have stuck if Cyborg hadn't spilled his cereal all over it!"

"Well, maybe I wouldn't have spilled my cereal all over if it if you hadn't been using it as a footrest for the last month!"

"Just open the stupid thing." Robin sighed, handing the box over to Cyborg.

Starfire sniffed as Cyborg pulled at one of the corners. "I shall miss our box of mystery... The way it used to sit there on the table, being mysterious... its eight corners and six sides..."

"Yeah," Robin rolled his eyes, "It's become a real part of the team... Open the damn thing Cy so we can get on with our lives."

"Okay, okay..." Cyborg sighed, "...drum roll Beast Boy?"

"Dude, that shake just hit home..." Beast Boy said, his voice weak and distant, "... I'm gonna sit here... and I'm gonna chill... just chill... _oh god!"_

"Hey," Cyborg said, "if he hacks then I don't have to..."

"OPEN THE GODDAMN BOX!"

"Jeez! Okay!..." Cyborg snorted and ripped the top off of the box. Robin and Starfire, unable to see the contents, watched Cyborg's eyes go wide and his jaw drop.

"Well, don't keep us waiting Cy!"

"Yes! I cannot stand one more moment of suspense! End the mystery friend Cyborg!"

"Has he opened it yet? Can I please throw up now?"

Cyborg's head slowly rose up from the box, looking back and forth slowly from Robin to Starfire, little inarticulate noises escaping from his throat. Almost as if it were slow motion the box tumbled from his knees, hit the floor and spilled its contents.

Starfire screamed. Robin scrambled away and fell back over the couch. Beast Boy squealed and fainted, hit the floor and spewed green vomit like a fountain.

There on the floor, lying amidst styrofoam packing peanuts and tissue paper was the severed head of a teenage girl.

--------------------

Hey all. This is my first fic ever so I'd appreciate some reviews. Hope you like it. Next chapter turns this one right on its head (pun intended? I dunno.), coming soon hopefully. -Rex


	2. Things come to a head

Teen Titans: Children of a Dynamic God

ch. 2

There's a reason why Robin was the leader of the Titans. Part of it is character. Part of it is raw talent. At the moment that the head rolled out of the box, the part of him that beat out all the other parts, including the panic, horror and shock that was currently overwhelming his teammates was simple training.

Specifically, training with Batman, the world's greatest martial artist and detective. How many times had Robin had to scramble awake in the middle of the night to fend off an attack from his mentor? How many stinging darts embedded themselves into his flesh as he ate his breakfast, did his homework, and watched TV? Even when they were on patrol the Boy Wonder wasn't safe from Batman's rigorous system of training.

The first year he spent in the mansion, Robin must have thought a dozen times that he was close to going insane. Never a moment's rest, never a moment when Robin could let his guard down. But he wouldn't back down. He had asked Bruce to train him and he was determined not to give up.

Not long after his thirtieth anxiety attack or so, the Boy Wonder stopped feeling panic, fear, and started to feel instead a sense of floating euphoria. Time seemed to slow every time a black-gloved hand gripped his throat as he slept, every time he was pushed down the stairs or turned a corner only to be sprayed in the eyes with lemon juice. The fear left him. He started responding instead of reacting.

Darts tipped with Tabasco sauce bounced off a spoon dripping with Rice Krispies in between bites. The smallest change in air pressure would send Robin exploding out of bed behind a barrage of fast-flying fists before he was even fully awake. He became adept at rolling down a flight of stairs while simultaneously flinging whatever might be in his pockets back up towards the top.

During that first year, he was unsettled by the actions of this man who had adopted him and shown him so much kindness. Then he was puzzled, then angered, then terrified. Then finally... apathetic. And then he began slowly to understand, and once Batman noticed that the two of them started to become so in sync that it was scary.

Robin would be forever grateful for that year of confusion and terror. What it had instilled in him had saved his live more times than he cared to remember. What Batman had done was to brutalize out of the Boy Wonder that moment of shock, of hesitation and indecision, however brief it might be that might mean the difference between life and death.

And so, as Starfire screamed, as Cyborg turned an even paler shade, as Beast Boy fainted dead away in a pool of his own vomit, and even as Robin was falling backwards over the couch (he would scold himself later for even that moment of surprise), the Boy Wonder's brain was already dissecting the scene. By the time he broke his fall and landed on his back behind the couch, less than a second later, he had already noted that there was no way a head in a box could have sat in their living room for two months and not given off some very incriminating fumes. As he let the momentum of his fall roll him onto his back and shoulder, he digested the fact that the glassy eyes that had looked up at him from the floor for that split second should have shriveled into raisins by now. The roll continued, bringing the Boy Wonder back on his feet. Before he could even bring his head up to confirm his theory, he remembered that there wasn't a speck of blood or bodily fluid. But there were dried splotches all over the neck and chin. A dark, viscous fluid that reminded him of...

Robin sprang to his feet, Starfire still screaming, Cyborg still catatonic. One glance at the head confirmed his suspicion.

"Starfire, Cyborg, calm down," Robin shouted, not able to even hear himself over Starfire's screams. "It's mechanical."

----------

"Ummm," Beast Boy muttered sheepishly, "You're... not still mad at me, are you Star?"

All five members of the team were assembled in one of the many science labs in the tower. Robin and Cyborg typed away at their keyboards as diagnostics, x-rays and all kinds of other data streamed across the many huge screens hanging from the ceiling. Raven stood a few feet behind them, determined to keep up with their technical jargon as best as she could, or at least look like she was. On a table in the middle of the room, dozens of wires taped to it, sat the head.

Starfire and Beast Boy stood next to each other, studying it. Taking her attention away from the mysterious object she glared at him.

"You mean, for throwing up and costing me my ill-gotten swag?" Starfire smiled at him, gritting her teeth and popping her knuckles. "For ruining my only chance to buy tickets to the concert of the Clay Aiken, Earth idol?"

"Ummm... yeah?" Beast Boy seemed to get smaller.

"Of... course... NOT!" Starfire hissed out through clenched teeth. Beast Boy whimpered and turned into a possum. He skittered over to the opposite side of the table.

"Wow," Cyborg whispered, looking over a screen full of indiscernible numbers.

"Yeah?" Robin asked, looking up from his own screen. "What kind of wow?"

"'Go check the postmark and see if this thing was mailed from the future' kind of wow." Cyborg looked at his screen in awe. "I think, maybe... I can almost wrap my mind around the kind of tech we're looking at here."

"Okay, useful as that information was," Raven said, rolling her eyes, "can you make a guess as to what it is?"

"Dude, it's the head of a robot chick!" Beast Boy exclaimed, fixing Raven with an incredulous look. "What else could it be?"

Cyborg spoke before Raven could open her mouth to snap back. "Believe it or not, I think BB's correct. If I'm reading this info right, we're looking at an artificial brain, for all intents and purposes."

"But why would someone send it to us?" Raven asked, trying not to sound too obvious.

"Why does half the crazy stuff that happens in our life happen?" Cyborg sighed. "No note, no instruction manual. Nothing to indicate where it came from or why."

"She's beautiful..." Starfire said softly, again gazing at the disembodied head on the table.

And it was. It appeared to be the head of a girl no older than sixteen or seventeen. The skin was darkly tanned with a light dusting of freckles along the bridge of the nose. Long, straight, unearthly silver hair pooled on either side of it, with matching eyebrows and lashes. The unblinking eyes had irises of a most striking and unnatural ruby red. Beautiful was an understatement. Had Michelangelo crafted it it might have been no more stunning.

"Dude," Beast Boy whistled, "I gotta admit, she is uber-hot."

"It's not a 'she' moron," Raven sneered, "you may as well be talking about your gamestation... Nevermind, I forgot you're in love with that too."

"Okay," Robin interrupted, "this is getting us nowhere. We can't have every Tom, Dick and supervillain thinking they can just send us random robot heads in the mail and get away with it."

"Well, I can take it apart," Cyborg mused, rubbing his chin, "there's bound to be some recognizable compon..."

"No!" Starfire shouted. "What are you saying?"

"Star," Robin spoke in his most placating voice, feeling a little embarrassed, "I know this is a strange situation, but this thing, it's not a real person. It's not alive."

"How do you know that!" Starfire cried out. "Did Cyborg not say that her machine brain is too complex for even him to understand? What if he hurts her!"

Robin opened his mouth to speak, then stopped. He turned around and looked at Cyborg, who frowned and crossed his arms.

"Well, ummm..." Robin scratched his head. "Help me out here guys..."

The four titans exchanged puzzled glances. Starfire chewed her lip, her brow twisted and agonized.

"What is wrong with all of you?" Starfire cried pleadingly.

Robin took a step back, looking like he had been slapped across the face. "Star, I..."

"We must fix her!" Starfire exclaimed. "Immediately!"

"Jesus," Raven sighed and rolled her eyes, turning away in disgust.

"She's right," Beast Boy said. "Dude, she's totally right."

The young changeling looked to Cyborg. "Well? Back me up dude!"

Cyborg smirked and shrugged at Robin. "Umm… well, she is right you know.

Robin rubbed the back of his neck and sighed. When he raised his head, he was smiling. "Of course she is. Thanks Star. I guess we were all still a little... freaked out."

Starfire, tears in her eyes, smiled as wide as she could and engulfed a blushing Robin in her biggest hug.

"God," Raven muttered, "are we just going to keep on letting her believe life's a Saturday morning cartoon?"

The other Titans ignored Raven and congregated in front of the table.

"Well," Robin said, "how tough is it going to be to switch her on Cy?"

"Gimme five minutes to wire her... I mean it,.. I mean, her... up to a battery." Cyborg chuckled. "Then another twenty to hook her into one of the laptops so we don't have to worry about flooding the mainframe with viruses."

"Cool." Robin said. "Well, let's get to it."

----------

Cyborg had the head laying on its side as he soldered another wire into the neck stump. He was so absorbed in his work that it took him a moment to realize there was a pleasant humming coming from opposite the head. He looked up to see a smiling Starfire wiping the face gently with a cloth.

"Star?" Cyborg said. "What are you doing?"

"Oh, I am just trying to clean off all of the oil!" Starfire beamed. "I do not want her to be embarrassed by her dirty face when we turn her on!"

Cyborg blinked and looked as if he was struggling to find something to say. He gave up, smirked and chuckled.

"I think she'll appreciate that Star." He said before going back to his work. Starfire giggled and carefully cleaned a splotch of oil from the flowing silver hair.

----------

"You know this is a trap." Raven said. "The second we hook up the battery it's going to suck all the power out of the tower or form a body out of all our machines or just explode or something..."

"Dude, Raven... Why are you always so paranoid?" Beast Boy asked.

"Paranoid?" Raven yelled. "Just this month we've had a giant cosmic jellyfish suck all the energy out of our tower, two monsters form bodies out of electronics and attack us, and every other day something blows up in our faces! And it's only the twelfth! TELL ME HOW I'M BEING PARANOID!"

Beast Boy shrank back and didn't say anything. He, she and Robin were in the kitchen, getting together a tray of refreshments to take back to the lab.

"Raven's got a point, Beast Boy." Robin said as he sliced apart an apple. "But I think it's a little too early to be expecting disaster. Besides, we're taking precautions."

"We always take precautions... precautions mean nothing in our line of business." Raven muttered.

"Yeah? Well maybe so, but that never stops us now does it?" Robin snapped.

Raven and Beast Boy jumped back a bit, surprised at the Boy Wonder's tone. He went on slicing apples for a few more seconds, the room cold with silence.

"I don't like that we... that I was so ready to break that thing down into pieces." Robin continued slicing. "I don't like that out of all of us, only Starfire was the one who had the damn horse sense to calm down and look at it rationally."

"Starfire? Calm?" Raven sneered. "Rational?"

"More rational than anyone else was being in there," Robin said. "You said it yourself Raven, we face unbelievable situations almost every day. And why? Because it's our job to protect people."

Robin turned around and faced them both. "And when we switch the power on in a few minutes, if that thing up there, whatever it is, opens its eyes and starts talking to us... Well, I'm probably going to have more than a little trouble falling asleep tonight thinking about how we almost failed to protect it."

Raven crossed her arms and snorted. "That's too simplistic. Even if it starts reciting Shakespeare and asking us about our day that doesn't mean it's not just a machine. We're not obligated to protect machines Robin, especially when there's a huge chance we're about to do something stupid and spring a trap on ourselves!"

Robin sighed, shook his head and picked up the tray. "Raven, just about everything you've said makes sense. But you know what? We're going to go downstairs and turn that thing on anyway, because we're the Teen Titans and we don't have any choice. If it sucks up the computers and forms a body out of them then we'll deal with it."

Robin pushed past her and disappeared down the hallway. Beast Boy looked back and forth between them and quickly trotted off after Robin. Raven stood alone in the kitchen, her fists clenched. Directly in front of her was a stack of dishes. Very subtly, they started rattling.

Raven took a long, slow breath. She unclenched her fists. The rattling stopped. A few moments later she stepped into the hallway.

----------

Starfire's leg bounced up and down as she sat. She rocked back and forth in her seat and chewed her lip "Ohhhh, what is taking so long? Are we not ready yet?"

Standing next to her, Raven groaned. Robin was busy typing away on the laptop computer sitting next to the head while Cyborg ran lines between the two.

"Star," Robin sighed, "we're going as fast as we can."

"I don't believe this," Cyborg said, "I think I just found a USB port."

"Well, that should make things easier," Robin deadpanned.

"I'll say," Cyborg said. He sat the head upright, stood and wiped his brow, smirked at the rest of the team. "I guess we're ready to go."

Starfire squealed with delight and pulled Beast Boy into a hug. He blushed and timidly hugged her back. Raven snorted in disgust and plopped down in the seat next to the excited girl.

"This thing isn't just going to wake up and ask to be your friend Star." Raven sneered. "More likely we're about to have a fight on our hands."

Starfire's face fell. Before she could respond Robin spoke up.

"Raven, that's enough. We've already had this conversation." The Boy Wonder said. Raven glared at him.

Cyborg cleared his throat. "Okay, now if everyone's paying attention. I've wired a battery to this thing, through this laptop. If anything weird happens it'll shut the battery right off. So… we ready y'all?"

"Yes, yes, yes!" Starfire bounced up and down in her seat. Cyborg looked to Robin, who simply nodded.

"Alright," Cyborg sighed, "let there be life!" He switched on the battery.

--------------------

Ooooooh, so it wasn't a skeery cut off head after all! I tricked you! Kya ha! I tricked you with the magic of the written word! Well, hope you enjoyed this chapter. I decided to cut a little loose with this one, hence the first part. That was fun to write. If you enjoyed it let me know and I won't restrain myself so much in the next chapters.

Coming up next: Will the head suck up all the equipment and form a massive body of horrifyingly destructive power, or will it become Star's friend? Or will something unexpected happen? You will just have to waaaaaiiiittttttt… -Rex


	3. Heading in the right direction

Teen Titans: Children of a Dynamic God

ch. 3

Raven was on the edge of her seat. Her cloak rustled slightly as dark energy churned beneath. Her narrow gaze burned towards the still-silent object on the table.

"Uhhh, is anything happening?" Beast Boy asked.

Only ten seconds had passed since Cyborg switched on the battery, and while the screen of the laptop sitting next to the head was suddenly abuzz with all manner of beeps, moving lines and graphs the head itself remained still. It's ruby red eyes remained vacant and unblinking.

"Shhhh, can't you hear that?" Cyborg said.

The others went silent and craned their heads back and forth.

"Is it the whining sound of which you speak?" Starfire asked.

Cyborg tapped the tip of his nose. "That's the sound of her internal hard drive. All that data running on the screen represents what's going on inside her head."

"Dude… she's thinking." Beast Boy whispered in awe.

Almost as if on cue the screen froze. The Titans blinked in unison.

"Uh, did she just break?" Robin asked. Starfire squeaked.

"No, I was expecting that," Cyborg said. "It couldn't keep up with her. The tower mainframe itself couldn't have kept up with her."

The seconds became minutes. Still nothing happened. The Titans all fixed Cyborg with puzzled looks. He shrugged and walked back over to the table. They watched as he leveled one exotic-looking instrument after another at the head. He shined a light into her eyes and snapped his fingers next to her ears. Cyborg looked back at the others a little uncertainly.

"Umm, hello." Cyborg spoke to the head.

The others almost fell out of their chairs. Raven snorted.

"You're in Titans Tower in Jump City." Cyborg continued. "My name is Cyborg and we're the Teen Titans. Can you understand me?"

Cyborg's greeting was met with zero response. The eyes stared ahead, dead and shining. The Metal teen rubbed his chin and sighed, then turned and walked back to the group.

"She's sandbaggin', I know it." Cyborg said. "I saw her pupils dilate, just for a second when her hard drive got up to speed. Her brain's been processing ever since then." Cyborg's voice was low, conspiratorial.

"I saw it too, or thought I did." Robin said. "I wasn't certain until you said the same."

"Why are we whispering?" Raven asked.

"Because I think she can hear us," Cyborg said, "and I think she might be… scared?"

The Titans turned and looked to the table as one.

"Okay Titans," Robin sighed, "let's have some options."

They all stared at him with wide eyes.

"Don't look at me, I'm stumped." Robin said. "Shy robot heads aren't my area of expertise."

"There's plenty of space in the trophy room still…" Raven said. The others ignored her.

"Can't you speak robot to her or something Cy?" Beast Boy asked. "Like R2-D2?"

"God you're an idiot." Cyborg muttered. "But trying to communicate with her through binary does seem like the best option. Only problem is that I'd have to connect with her directly and…"

"Out of the question." Robin said. "Come up with something else."

Cyborg sighed. Beast Boy cried out dramatically and rubbed his temples.

"This is hurting my brain! What about you Star? Got any good… Star?"

They turned to see Starfire kneeling in front of the head, whispering into it's ear. Raven gasped and would have sprung forward if Robin hadn't grabbed her arm at that second. She turned to him in disbelief but he merely shook his head at her. The four of them watched in silence.

"Cy," Robin whispered, "What's she saying?"

"About what you'd imagine." Cy whispered back. "'We won't hurt you', 'you're safe with us', 'it's our job to help people". I saw it's eyes move just now. I think it understands her."

Robin's face flushed a little as he smiled. Again, Starfire's straightforwardness had proven to be the best approach.

A few more moments went by, silent except for Star's whisperings. And then abruptly, she stopped. Robin watched as Cyborg's eyes went wide, apparently at something only the cybernetically enhanced teen could hear. Before he could fill Robin in he was cut off by Starfire's gentle voice.

"Robin," Starfire said, barely above a whisper, "could you join me please?"

Robin exchanged quick glances with his three teammates and then walked over to kneel by Star. He looked back and forth between the still-inanimate head and Starfire's flushed, hopeful face. She nodded at him excitedly and turned her attention back to the head.

"This is Robin, our leader. Robin, tell her that there is nothing to be afraid of… that we want to help her."

Robin suddenly felt very self-conscious. He cleared his throat and chewed his lip for a moment.

"Uh… yeah. There's nothing to be afraid of." Robin silently cursed himself as his voice cracked. "We want to help you if you'll let us."

One second of silence. Two seconds of silence. The unearthly red eyes flickered in Robin's direction and then back. Only years of intense training kept him from jumping.

Slowly, the eyes trained back over to focus on Robin's. The delicate silver brows knit in fear and dismay. Robin tried to swallow.

"Please." The voice was light and beautiful, barely above a whisper. Her mouth didn't move at all as she spoke. "How did I get here?"

"Well… you kind of arrived in the mail." Robin drew in his breath. "You mean you didn't know?"

Her brow knit further. Robin could barely hear the sound of servos working as she slowly blinked. To his amazement, her eyes started to tear up.

"You're safe here, I promise." Robin said.

"Yes, we won't let anything happen to you." Starfire jumped in, her voice choked with emotion.

The girl's eyes looked back and forth between them.

"Thank you." She said.

Robin smiled at her. "What's your name?"

The beautiful red eyes looked away for a second before slowly returning to meet Robin's.

"I don't know." She whispered, her voice quivering. "I can't remember anything."

----------

"So you can change into any animal you can think of?"

"Uh huh!" Beast Boy beamed. "Pick an animal, any animal!"

"Hmm,.. how about an ostrich?"

Beast Boy flashed a toothy grin and morphed into an ostrich. He turned a complete circle and craned his neck comically around the silver-haired head on the table.

She laughed heartily, only her eyes showing any emotion as they wrinkled in delight. "That's amazing! Except for the green I would swear you were a real ostrich."

Beast Boy morphed back and rubbed his head. "Yeah, I'm kinda stuck with this color." His face fell.

"Oh, I didn't mean it like that." The girl added quickly. "Green is a very handsome color on you."

Beast Boy's cheeks flushed a little. He chuckled weakly and turned to Cyborg. "Didja' hear that? Handsome."

Cyborg was busy typing away at the computer. "Uh huh, yeah…" He mumbled absently before turning back to the girl. "I'm trying to access your basic systems. Think you can, umm… drop your firewall?"

There was a hint of a blush on Cyborg's cheeks.

"Hmm? Oh sure." The girl said. She blinked once then looked back to Cyborg. "That should do it, just… don't go too deep, okay?"

Now she was the one blushing. Cyborg cleared his throat and nodded, then went back to typing away.

The doors hissed open. Robin and Starfire walked in. Giggling, Starfire bounded over to the table. Robin set down the large box he was carrying next to Cyborg.

"I guess this is what you were looking for." He said. "We really need to have a garage sale or something."

Cyborg didn't even acknowledge the Boy Wonder. His fingers were flying on the keyboard, his eyes glued to the screen.

"Beast Boy, you have been behaving yourself, yes?" Starfire arched an eyebrow at the elfish teen. "You did not try to get her to pull your finger or anything like that, did you?"

"How could she… I mean, even if I asked her to…" Beast Boy scratched the top of his head. "Don't ask me stuff like that Star! I know how to behave around people!"

Even Cyborg stopped what he was doing to roll his eyes. The Titans' newest visitor giggled. Starfire plopped down in a chair next to her, grinning as wide as she could.

"Are you comfortable enough new friend?" Starfire said, her eyes sparkling. "Do you require a hot towel? Or a pillow? Or maybe some freshly baked cookies? Oh wait, you are a robot... I can get you some yummy oil instead!"

"Thanks Star, but I'm fine." The girl chuckled. "Where did Raven go?"

Starfire looked away. "She is… busy monitoring transmissions. The police and fire department radios and the like."

Starfire's face fell. "I have just realized, we do not have a name for you new friend. We must call you something!"

Her 'new friend' winced. "It… it's so close, on the tip of my tongue. I… I think my name starts with an… 'N'?"

"Ummm, Nancy?" Beast Boy said.

"No, I don't think so."

"Nyarlophangey?" Starfire asked.

"Uh, I'm pretty sure that's not it."

"Natalie?"

"Nuotwoq?

"Nooo…"

"Nicole?"

"Ninbinsunfonpoog?"

Ninbinsunfonpoog winced. "No, that's not it either."

"How about Nike?" Cyborg said.

The girl's eyes went wide. "Yes! Yes that it! That's my name!"

"Specifically, Nike 1.0, Olympus systems."

"What else did you find?" Her voice was trembling.

"There's not much else here." Cyborg sighed. "I think I found your version of an 'about' file. The only other thing it says is that you're built around something called an 'Ambrosia engine'."

"… That's it?" Nike whispered.

"I'm sorry." Cyborg said. "I… I don't think there's anything else to find. It looks like if I go any deeper I'll just run into your encrypted code. This… it's amazing. It's nothing like anything I've ever seen. There's no OS, no directory…"

Cyborg turned around quickly. Nike's eyes were closed, holding back tears. Starfire was stroking the girl's hair, trying to show her sympathy.

"I'm sorry." Cyborg said again. "I…"

Nike sniffed and blinked, her brows arching in irritation. "No, it's okay… Crying's not going to do me any good."

"Are you sure that you even had a memory?" Cyborg asked. "I mean… maybe this is the first time you've been activated."

"No, I'm sure of it." Nike said, her voice unwavering. "I can feel it… like this big emptiness inside me. It used to be full of memories of places, and other people. I had… a family."

The room was silent. Starfire was sniffing and wiping at the corners of her eyes.

"Ohhhh, do not worry! We will take care of you 'Neekay'! You can stay with us as long as you wish!" Starfire's voice was cracking with emotion. She enveloped Nike's prone head in a smothering embrace and looked over to Robin with desperate eyes.

"Well, it's not as if she takes up much space." Robin smirked. Nike's laugh echoed from somewhere in Starfire's bosom. Giggling, Starfire sat her back on the table.

"Yeah, just set me on top of the fridge or something." Nike said. "But seriously… thank you. I know this situation is beyond strange…"

Robin cut her off. "Beyond strange is where we spend most of our time. I think I speak for all the Titans when I invite you to stay as our guest. We'll try to find out more about this 'Olympus Systems' in the meantime."

"Yes, and you do not have to live on top of the refrigerator! She can stay in my room, can she not Robin?" Starfire squealed.

"Nike, what's this?" Cyborg said, his eyes fixed to the screen. Nike's eyes went blank for just a moment.

"It looks like a zipped file." Nike said. "Pretty big too. Think you can decompress it?"

"Already done… oh wow." Cyborg's voice trailed off.

"Well, what is it?" Beast Boy cried out, realizing he hadn't said anything in a while.

"… blueprints." Cyborg said. "Unless I'm mistaken these are blueprints for what looks like a truly stunning mechanical body."

"… Really?" Robin said.

"Dude! That's awesome!" Beast Boy exclaimed. "You're gonna build it, right Cy?"

"Oh how wonderful!" Starfire jumped up and down, clapping her hands. "Our new friend will have arms and legs and a ribcage and a private area and everything!"

Nike's hopeful eyes were fixed on Cyborg. "Is that really what it is?.. my body?"

Cyborg grinned at her. "That's what it looks like."

He hit a few keys, filling the screens with one page after another of intimidating-looking schematics. There was a collective awed gasp.

"… are those wings?" Nike asked.

"They are beautiful," Starfire whispered.

"'Winged Victory'," Cyborg smiled. "I'll get in touch with Waynetech and S.T.A.R. Labs tomorrow and start ordering parts."

Nike was still gazing at Cyborg, her eyes gleaming. "You… you mean it? You'd do that for me?"

Cyborg blushed and rubbed the back of his head. "Heh heh, aw c'mon… it'll be a snap! Can't just leave you like this can we?"

Nike couldn't hold back the tears now. She laughed, trying to blink them away. "Thanks Cyborg. All of you… thanks so much. I'll make it up to you, I promise."

"Heh, don't sweat it Nike," Beast Boy grinned. "Cyborg can whip this up over the weekend."

"Hey, I never said I could…"

"Yes, it is our pleasure!" Starfire beamed. "And then you can walk and run and jump and twirl and thrust and…"

"Okay Titans, let's wrap it up." Robin said. "It's getting late and I'm sure Nike would appreciate it if we gave her some privacy."

Despite Nike's protestations Robin herded Beast Boy and Starfire out of the room. Cyborg spent the next half-hour doing his best to make Nike as comfortable as possible.

"Well, I'm gonna hit the sack." Cyborg said. ""Umm, should I shut you down for the night or…"

"No!" Nike cried out, her eyes wide with terror. "I-I mean… I'd rather… I'm fine like this, don't worry about me."

Cyborg smiled at her. "Okay, but if Star sneaks back in here you might want to pretend you're off. She WILL talk your ear off. I hooked you into a tower terminal so you can watch TV. I had to shut down net access though, at least until I update the mainframe against that sick new virus going around. If you need anything, just beep me."

"Thanks Cyborg." Nike said. "Everyone's been so kind… you especially."

"Heh, don't mention it." Cyborg grinned. "This is the least we can do after letting you sit on the counter for three months."

"Wait… what?"

"OH WOW! TIME FOR BED!" Cyborg yawned loudly, stretching his arms out. "WELL, SEE YOU TOMORROW NIKE!"

Cyborg was almost out the door before Nike called out to him.

"Yes?" He said.

"So… you think my body's stunning huh?" Nike's ruby eyes sparkled mischievously. Cyborg flushed red and cleared his throat. Nike laughed.

"Night-night Cy."

----------

The Titans, except for Cyborg, sat around a table. Raven shot them all a nasty glance, one after the other.

"There's nothing to add." Raven muttered. "Just try not to let your perverse new toy distract you from the fact that we have a city to protect."

Beast Boy and Starfire both jumped to their feet and started yelling at Raven, drowning each other out. Cyborg walked in.

"I thought you'd all be in here." He said. "Any problems?"

"No, other than Raven being a total bitch!" Beast Boy spat.

"What did you call me!" Raven jumped to her feet, the air around her crackling with dark energy. Beast Boy stood there, growling softly.

"TITANS, STAND DOWN!" Robin screamed. Raven and Beast Boy stared daggers at each other, trembling. Starfire whimpered and buried her head in her hands.

"Beast Boy, if I ever hear you talk to one of your teammates that way again there will be repercussions, you got me?" Robin's voice was cold and gravelly.

Beast Boy didn't even try to stare down the Boy Wonder. He snapped Robin a quick nod and fell back in his chair with all the attitude he could muster. Robin turned his gaze on Raven.

"The same goes for you Raven. You've made your concerns clear, over and over. I'm tired of hearing them." Robin said. "You will treat our guest with civility and respect and you will keep your bigotry to yourself."

Raven's eyes went wide. Everyone's eyes went wide. Raven opened her mouth to speak but Robin cut her off.

"What else do you want me to call it Raven?" Robin snapped. "As far as the Teen Titans is concerned Nike is a living, breathing human being. She is certainly NOT a toy."

"Then the Teen Titans need to get their heads checked. Okay, so it wasn't a trap, so far." Raven's voice was level and calm but none of the titans believed for a second that she wasn't holding back a frightening anger. "Now we're going to waste time and resources building a body for it? Why not just pack it up and send it to S.T.A.R. Labs?"

"Because Nike showed up on our doorstep, not theirs." Robin said. "Not only are we going to build her a new body and offer her a place to stay for as long as she needs it, we're going to exhaust every resource we have to find out where she came from and what happened to her. And this is something we're going to do as a team, got it?"

Unlike Beast Boy, Raven didn't seem to have any problems standing up to Robin. The air in the room felt heavier and heavier as the seconds ticked by.

"And I guess what I think just doesn't matter huh? I may as well just sit back and keep my mouth shut?" Raven spat.

"You've had your say, and it's been duly considered. But this is not a democracy. I call the shots and you could not be more wrong about this situation. The Teen Titans don't discriminate." Robin's voice was eerily calm. "Not against robots. Not against aliens. Not even against half-demons."

Even Starfire stopped breathing. Raven stood there, her fists clenched, trembling. Beast Boy, Starfire and Cyborg probably wouldn't have been surprised to know they were all thinking about the quickest way out of the building. Robin was as unreadable as ever, matching her stare.

Raven's hands went slack. Her shoulders sank. Only Robin could see her face as she fixed him with a look so sorrowful, so betrayed that Robin rocked back on his feet. She spun on her heel and stalked out of the room. The three Titans simultaneously released their breath as Robin fell back in his chair. The Boy Wonder stared up at the ceiling and let out a long sigh. His hands trembled slightly.

"… I think…" Starfire began. Robin cut her off with one shaky, upraised hand. He slowly sat up and smiled gently at the delicate alien girl.

"No, I didn't handle that too well." Robin said. "I'm a little irritated at myself and I took it out on Raven. I'll apologize to her tomorrow, when she's less likely to telekinetically boil my bone marrow."

"Okaaaaay…" Cyborg whistled. "Now that I've officially walked into the middle of the scariest situation ever, you guys need to be brought up to speed on the 'rebuild Nike' project."

"Okay, let's hear it." Robin said.

"This is going to cost us around 3 million." Cyborg said quickly. Robin fell out of his chair.

"Dude," Beast Boy said softly. "That is like, 100,000 video games."

"That is a lot, right?" Starfire said. Robin shakily climbed back into his seat.

"It's… not that bad actually…" Cyborg rubbed the back of his head. "That's about an eighth of what my prosthesis costs. It's not as much as an M-1 Abrams tank and I guarantee she'll be more useful to us than a dozen of those!"

"Okay, okay…" Robin rubbed the bridge of his nose. "The city's lawyers aren't going to be happy about this but they'll get over it."

"Don't worry man, it's gonna be awesome." Cyborg grinned. "These blueprints are amazing. Nike'll be a powerhouse once I put her back together!"

"Dude, that is so cool!" Beast Boy exclaimed. "She's gonna be like that chick from Terminator 3! Will she be able to shoot laser beams out of her eyes or transform into a car or something?"

They all just looked at Beast Boy. He rubbed the back of his head and slunk down in his seat.

"So she can join our team?" Starfire asked, barely containing her enthusiasm. "She will be a Titan?"

"Well, it's a little early for that. If her new body is half as powerful as Cyborg says it is then it sounds like she'll be strong enough." Robin mused.

"Oh, she'll be strong enough." Cyborg snorted. "She'll be almost as strong as Star, have better reflexes than you, be at least as durable as me and be faster and more versatile than any of us. Not to mention all the cool gadgets built into her."

"And she will be able to fly as well!" Starfire said, her eyes sparkling. "You forgot to mention that!"

Cyborg winced. "The three million describes the… basic package." Cyborg said. "The wings themselves would cost another two million."

Starfire's face fell. Even Beast Boy seemed disappointed. "But… but they are a part of her." Starfire whispered. "Nike was meant to fly! The ancient Earth language from which her name was taken… is that not what it means?"

Robin went back to rubbing the bridge of his nose. "We'll talk about this later, there's a more pressing matter."

Starfire sank down in her seat, looking defeated. Robin rose to his feet slowly.

"Okay… someone has obviously spent a lot of time, effort and money constructing an artificial human." Robin said, his voice slow and deliberate. "They designed her to cry, to blush, to laugh… I want to know where Nike came from. And if she's right, if there is a family out there somewhere missing her I want to know why she isn't with them right now. I want to know why she can't remember anything and how she got here."

"Dude, she got here FedEx, question answered." Beast Boy said.

"Rob, you noticed her neck, right?" Cyborg asked.

"Yeah. It makes things more… complex doesn't it?" robin replied.

"What are you guys talking about?" Beast boy asked. Starfire spoke before Robin could answer.

"They are speaking of the way her head was removed from her body." Starfire said quietly. "It was not detached in the way that Cyborg can detach his arm. Her head was cut off. Am I right?"

"Yes Star, you are. It does seems as if her head was cut off." Robin said. "Not only that but as far as I can tell it was severed with one stroke."

"No human could produce that much force." Cyborg said.

"Any chance you're going to find more surprising files in her brain Cy?" Robin asked.

"None." Cyborg said. "After I found the blueprints I scoured as deep as Nike was willing to let me go."

A moment of silence fell over the table. The Titans looked back and forth to each other.

"She's… Nike is something really incredible guys." Cyborg said. "Her programming is more dense, more complex than I could have imagined. There are… billions and billions of lines of code running through her head at the speed of light, even when she's just relaxing. In my best judgment she's as alive as you or I. In fact… she may be a more advanced lifeform than any of us."

Another moment of silence as the gravity of Cyborg's words sank in.

"It is imperative that we find out where she came from." Robin said. "Write up an inventory for me Cy, I'll order the parts."

"Uh, sure Rob," Cyborg blinked. "Any reason you want to do it?"

"Yeah, I've got an inside line that can get us most if not all of what you need on the down low," The Boy Wonder said. "I don't want anyone, not even S.T.A.R. Labs knowing that we're building a mechanical body. Not yet."

"But I thought the scientists at S.T.A.R. were our friends?" Starfire said. "Did they not help to create Cyborg's mechanical parts?"

Robin waved his hand in the air. "The fewer people who know we're playing host to what may be the first true A.I. on the planet the better. S.T.A.R. are indeed our friends, but a bunch of curious scientists wanting to take her apart is the last thing Nike needs right now."

"They will do no such thing!" Starfire barked, banging her fists down on the table. Robin placed his hand on her shoulder and smiled.

"No one will Star," Robin said. "We're going to get Nike up and running as fast as humanly, or cybernetically possible."

The Titans stood, stretched and left the room. Beast Boy fell in step next to Cyborg.

"So… she's 'really incredible' huh?" The puckish teen grinned slyly. Cyborg arched an eyebrow at him.

"What? Nike's the most advanced computer I've ever seen." Cyborg said. "She's an amazing piece of hardware."

"Yeah, but I bet it's her software you're interested in." Beast Boy grinned

"Dude, that is so immature. I'm just helping her out." Cyborg sighed. "I mean, if you were just a head wouldn't you appreciate a little kindness?"

Beast Boy was about to reply when Cyborg swung around and leveled his gaze at the young man. "_And if you embarrass me in front of her I'll rip those ridiculous ears right off your head!_"

Beast Boy gulped and nodded quickly. Cyborg narrowed his eyes at the Elfish teen, turned on his heel and stalked away. Beast Boy let out his breath in one big gasp.

----------

Nike was skimming through the tower mainframe, amusing herself by reading the various mission reports, villain profiles and the like. Eyes closed, sensory receptors dialed down, she didn't hear Raven enter the room.

_Mad Mod? Mumbo the magician? Killer Moth? _Nike thought to herself._ They certainly have a colorful rogue's gallery don't they? I hope I don't run into this "Gizmo" person anytime soon. Brrrrr!_

Raven coughed. Nike's eyes shot open. Raven involuntarily took a step back.

"Oh, hello Raven!" Nike said. "I was hoping you'd come back."

"How do you do that?" Raven asked. "That talking without moving your mouth?"

Nike laughed. "Creepy isn't it? Well, my voice is artificial so I don't need breath. It comes from a little box at the base of skull and goes through speakers in my throat. And since I don't have any neck servos at the moment I can't really move my jaw. Otherwise they'd both match up and the illusion would be complete."

Raven didn't reply. She casually walked over to Nike and stood in front of her, arms crossed.

"Raven," Nike's voice was timid, "is there something you want?"

"What's it like?" Raven asked.

"What's what like?"

"Being a machine." Raven whispered.

"Oh… um, I… I really don't know how to answer that."

Raven continued. "You're programmed to laugh and cry right? What else can you do?"

Nike's eyebrows met in irritation. "I'm not programmed to 'do' anything. I just do what I feel like. And I'm not a machine, I'm a person just like you."

"So, you could just… turn your emotions off if you wanted to?" Raven's voice was distant.

"No, no more than you can!" Nike said. Her voice was becoming more aggressive. "This is who I am! I can feel everything you can feel!"

Raven knelt. Her face was inches from Nike's. She looked deep into the girl's eyes. They darted back and forth quickly.

"Raven?"

Raven slowly stood back up. She rubbed her eye with her palm. "I'm sorry if I offended you. To be frank I'm still trying to wrap my mind around this whole situation. It's a little beyond the pale you know?"

Nike looked up at Raven, her eyebrows slowly smoothing out. "I'd have to say that's an understatement…"

Raven smiled. Nike was reminded of a crocodile. "Point taken. It's just that I'm a psion with empathic vision and I'm not used to interacting with intelligences that I don't get some kind of reading from. I don't mean to come off as rude. I guess I've gotten a little too comfortable feeling people's emotions before they do."

Raven smiled again. Nike's eyes never left hers. The sound of servos accompanied every blink

"My consciousness is modeled after a theoretical superorganism." Nike said." It's the next step on the evolutionary ladder after human intelligence. It's like… being made out of ten to the two-hundred and thirtieth power of versions of yourself existing on the cellular level. Their activity expresses itself as me, the ego you're now talking to. They're always pestering me for feedback so I try to keep them busy by having them run as many tests and simulations as possible all the time. So in other words, I'm just like a human."

Raven crossed her arms and leaned against the cabinet, smirking at Nike. "That's pretty interesting actually."

"I can speed up my perception to the point where I could experience the full works of the combined authors of all history in the time it would take you to blink. I'm currently processing information on numerous phenomena happening in and around this very room that your nervous system isn't equipped to register, with theoretical RAM to spare. I'm also running probabilities on what your next action might be, to about the twenty-third power at the moment. And I've got the theme song from some cartoon I was watching earlier stuck in my head. That's what it's like to be me."

Raven, arms crossed, looked down at her feet. She sighed deeply. "Okay, making a good first impression is obviously not my strong point. Think we can just forget about me coming in here and saying all the wrong things and just start over tomorrow?"

Nike looked into Raven's eyes. It almost seemed like the overbearing girl was finally being sincere. All the biological readings she was getting off of Raven's body indicated the same.

"If you think that's a bad first impression, try having your severed head roll out onto someone's carpet." Nike said.

Raven smirked. "I hope that means we're cool. I really can't afford to piss anyone else off tonight."

"Hey, if you can't cut someone a little slack when they're on their period then when can you?" Nike said. The goth girl's eyes went wide. Raven blushed a little.

"Okay, that's a useful talent…" Raven said. "Anything else I should know about?"

"Actually, I'm glad you brought it up," Nike said, averting her ruby red eyes. "I can kinda' tell when someone's lying to me. Their pulse rate changes, their pupils constrict, they release certain pheromones… it's not really something I can turn off so you should probably warn the others."

Raven's sharp gaze flicked up and down Nike's head. She chewed her lower lip. "Yeah, I can do that too. Sucks doesn't it?"

"Well, now that I think about it… yeah, it kinda does. So the others are going to be cool with having two people in the house they can't lie to?"

"How should I know?" Raven said as she walked toward the door. "I never told them. See you tomorrow."

--------------------

Took a while to post a new chapter huh? Well, maybe if I got some reviews I could be persuaded to put the next one up sooner. Huh? HUH?

Coming up next: Starfire and Nike bond. Nike gets her new body. Maybe some romance for the one Titan who never seems to get any love? Maybe some action? I dunno. I'll put in some action if you guys ask for it.


	4. I can't come up with anymore head titles...

Teen Titans: Children of a Dynamic God

ch. 4

The café went silent in the space of a few seconds. Wide-eyed stares on every face. Mouths frozen open in the act of taking a bite of pizza.

A child started crying.

"Um, Star," Nike said, "Maybe we should head back to the tower."

"Nonsense friend!" Starfire beamed. "There are still so many places we have yet to visit! Like the mall, and the skate park, and the Cineplex, and the pet shop, and the…"

Starfire's voice degenerated into a series of squeals and giggles. She bounced up and down in her seat.

The Teen Titans were known to frequent the pizza bar (dozens of autographed photos of the team posing with customers and staff lined the walls downstairs). Many of the current patrons had even seen them eating there before. Usually, the Titans entered through the front door, like everyone else.

This time, Starfire had floated down from the sky, gracefully settling in her favorite seat at her favorite table. The few customers gasped in awe at the sight. It was like some strange, beautiful goddess descending from the blinding sun.

And then she sat Nike's head down in the middle of the table.

"Um… Ms. Starfire?" A pretty young waitress leaned over the table, her eyes flicking back and forth between Starfire and Nike's head.

"Oh hello Stacie!" Starfire beamed. "I would like a slice of pepperoni pizza with extra cheese and… _miniature marshmallows!_"

Starfire looked back and forth, as if she were expecting someone to scold her. Stacie shuffled uncomfortably and cleared her throat.

"Actually, Ms. Starfire… um." Stacie chewed her bottom lip. "The other customers… uh, you know, we could get you a cardboard box to put your, um…"

"I think she's talking about me Starfire." Nike sighed.

Stacie screamed. The customers screamed. Starfire screamed.

----------

Beast Boy had been washing dishes most of the morning. Of course, the Titans had a dishwasher the size of a small bed but that didn't seem to matter to him. Beast Boy was the only member of the team who washed them by hand, and then only when he had some thinking to do, although the correlation might have been lost on him. It wasn't lost on the other Titans however, who had given him plenty of space all morning.

Except for one.

"Hey." Raven muttered as she slunk in next to him. She picked up a dripping dish from the rack and wiped it with a towel.

"Hey." Beast Boy responded.

The two washed and dried the dishes in silence. A few minutes went by.

"I wish I hadn't said what I said to you last night." Beast Boy spoke quickly. Raven paused for a second then continued drying the dishes.

"There's some stuff I wish I hadn't said last night too." Raven said. "Robin was right."

"Did you guys talk already?"

"Yeah. I got a pretty well-deserved lecturing."

Beast Boy stopped washing and turned to look at her. His face was painted with anguish. Raven's breath caught in her throat.

"So you don't hate me, right?" He asked.

Raven smirked. "No more than usual."

The tension drained out of Beast Boy's face. He chuckled and smiled at her. "I can live with that."

They went back to washing the dishes.

"I got to talk with Nike last night." Raven said. Beast Boy's ears perked up. Raven wondered and not for the first time if he was aware of it when they did that.

"Oh yeah?" Beast Boy asked.

"Yeah," Raven said, still methodically drying the dishes. "She seems nice."

Beast Boy turned and grinned at her. Raven arched an eyebrow.

"What?" She asked. Beast Boy turned back to the dishes.

"Yeah, she is nice." Beast Boy said as he scrubbed. "I hope Cy can fix her quick."

"Me too."

----------

Far above Jump City flew Starfire. Cradled carefully in her arm was Nike's head.

"Where would you like to go next friend Nike?" Starfire asked excitedly. "You still have a lot of electricity in your battery, yes?"

"Yeah, my battery's fine Star." Nike said. "I'm just not sure if…"

"There are so many things we could do!" Starfire interrupted with a squeal. "We could fly by the office buildings and wave to the business people inside! Or we could go to the zoo and see the penguins! They gave me a free lifetime pass! Well, the people who work there gave it to me, not the penguins…"

"Actually, maybe it would be better if we just went back to the…"

"Or we could go to the gloomy bookstore and coffee shop! It is the only place Raven will go to with me, though no one there ever talks to me… Or we could visit the boardwalk! They have a ferris wheel!"

Starfire held Nike out at arm's length and smiled at the android girl as wide as she could. Nike suppressed a sigh and relaxed her eyebrows, which was the closest she could come to a smile in her present condition.

"Maybe we could go to the museum?" She said

"Oh that sounds wonderful! I have never been there! Raven always told me I shouldn't even bother!"

"Okay, I don't know what that meaaaaaannnnnNNNNNNNSSSSSSSS!"

Nike never got to finish her sentence as Starfire took them both into a steep dive.

----------

The door to Cyborg's workshop slid open. Robin stepped through into one of the biggest messes he had ever seen. Crate after crate of expensive-looking electronics and engineering equipment lay strewn across the floor. In the center of the room, lying on his back and looking up at the ceiling was Cyborg, his face smeared with grease. His mechanical components were dingy and mussed.

Robin picked his way across the floor. "Uhhhh, hey." The Boy Wonder said. "Everything cool?"

"…Yeah… everything's juuuuuust fine." Cyborg said, his voice distant. Robin shifted on his feet uncomfortably.

"All the parts get here?" He asked.

"Yeah, more or less." Cyborg said. "They've been bringing in stuff all day. All… day…"

Robin cleared his throat and looked around the room. The towering LCD screens overflowed with the Nike's schematics. On the table where she had been reactivated were the beginnings of her body. Almost.

Cyborg had built part of a mechanical thumb.

"Well, if there's nothing else, I guess I'll be…"

"I'm not going to be able to work on your bike… for a while." Cyborg said.

"No, that's okay. I unders…"

"And the security update? I'm not gonna be able to get around to that for a while."

Robin was inching back towards the door. "That's cool. I completely understand…"

"And tell Raven that I'm not gonna be able to fix her tub for a while."

"Okay, I'll make sure to tell her…" Robin slowly disappeared out the door.

"The solar panels up on the roof?.. Yeah, not for a while…"

The door slid shut. Cyborg curled up in the fetal position and started rocking back and forth.

----------

The girls sat on the steps of the museum, the afternoon sun painting everything a golden red.

"That was amazing!" Nike beamed. "The way the light shone off the sculptures! The texture, the air they displace! I mean, I've always had the images on my hard drive of everything we saw today, but to view them in person! I had no idea that humans could so precisely contour a surface! Even the flaws were breathtaking!"

Starfire nodded her head slightly then returned her attention to the Big Gulp resting between her knees. Her eyes darted back and forth as she took a long sip.

"Star, is everything okay?" Nike asked. "I hope it wasn't too boring for you."

Starfire bolted upright. "No!.. I mean, quite the opposite."

Starfire leaned in close to Nike. "It's just that," she whispered, her eyes still darting back and forth, "So many of those statues and paintings were, well… _naked_ … Are you sure it was alright to look at them?"

"Yeah Star, it's okay, I promise." Nike's laughed. "It's art. Art's supposed to be looked at. Even the naked stuff."

"Oh…", Starfire's brow was screwed up in confusion, "And the channel that Beast Boy watches late at night while everyone is asleep… the one none of the other Titans know about… that is also art, yes?"

"Uh, no…" Nike said, a blush spreading on her face. "That's probably different."

"I knew it…" Starfire scowled. "He lied to me."

----------

_GreyGhost99_: I need you in Gotham next weekend. Is that going to be a problem?

Birdboy23: No, that should be okay. Arkham business or mob business?

_GreyGhost99_: Mob business, thank god. The Arkham crowd's been pretty quiet lately, which has got me worrying.

Birdboy23: It's only a matter of time I guess. So, who are we busting up this weekend? Maldonado? Schulz?

_GreyGhost99_: Maldonado. Ol' Banana nose ignored my "friendly advice" and started trafficking in Indonesian refugees again. We're going to make an example of him.

Birdboy23: Couldn't happen to a nicer guy. Well, if that's all I'll take off. I'm surprising the team with some early morning drills.

_GreyGhost99_: Good, keep them on their toes. One more thing and then I'll let you go.

Birdboy23: Shoot.

_GreyGhost99_: Planning on letting me in on why your Waynetech expense account is in the red this month?

Birdboy23: I was planning on it, yeah. But we're keeping it under our hats for a reason. If you really want to know I'll tell you but it was going to be a surprise.

_GreyGhost99_: That's alright, I've been doing some research on my own. I can't find anything on Olympus systems or an "Ambrosia" AI Engine.

Birdboy23: … You know, we really wanted some time to handle this on our own.

_GreyGhost99_: Too strange a situation. I decided to get involved. You have an issue with that?

Birdboy23: I don't have much choice do I? But please, keep this to yourself.

_GreyGhost99_: I've got some of my AI people working on it, but none of them has the complete picture. Not enough to put two and two together at least. I'd like to bring Ray Palmer in on this too.

Birdboy23: Again, do I have a choice?

_GreyGhost99_: On this, yes. I trust Ray and you should too, but if you say no I'll abide by it.

Birdboy23: Okay, but no more snooping around our systems.

_GreyGhost99_: Is it my fault if the Titans mainframe is so easy to infiltrate?

Birdboy23: I'll make sure to pass that on to Cyborg.

_GreyGhost99_: Please do, I enjoy a good challenge.

Birdboy23: lol. I'll make sure he gives you one then.

_GreyGhost99_: That "lol" stuff. Can't stand it. What does it mean again?

Birdboy23: "Laugh out loud". Come on you know you wanna try it.

_GreyGhost99_: Not a chance.

Birdboy23: Lol. Rofl. OMG!WTF!ROFLMAO!

GreyGhost99 has signed out.

Birdboy23: I was just joking.

GreyGhost99 appears to be offline and may not receive this message.

----------

Cyborg rubbed the bridge of his nose. After a solid day of work the daunting task of assembling Nike's body from scratch seemed slightly less daunting. No more difficult that assembling a particle accelerator from matchsticks and good intentions certainly. He sighed and looked up at the clock. Another hour of work maybe and then he'd have to hit the sack.

_Cyborg,_ Nike's voice rang in his internal communicator. _Are you still up?_

_Yeah Nike,_ Cyborg responded, _Did you have fun with Star?_

_Oh yeah,_ Nike laughed, _We had a blast. I don't think there's an inch of Jump City we didn't see today._

_That's good,_ said Cyborg, _I was a little worried she might wear you out._

_Naw. In fact, I've been invited to a sleepover tonight._

Cyborg chuckled. _Well, don't let her stay up too late. Robin had that sadistic gleam in his eye tonight that he only gets when he's planned a 3 AM emergency drill._

_Ouch, that sounds like fun. Want me to short out his alarm clock?_

Cyborg could hear the mischievousness in Nike's electronic voice. _Heh, if only that would work. He does this freaky Ninja thing when he sleeps. Doesn't even use an alarm clock but he never wakes up late._

_Wow, that's impressive. Okay, I'll let you go. Will my battery be alright tonight?_

_Yeah, you shouldn't have to charge it again until Sunday or so._

There was a moment of silence. Cyborg wondered if Nike had cut off their communication that abruptly.

_Cyborg, thanks again for all you're doing for me. I know how much trouble it must be._

Cyborg couldn't help but grin sheepishly, _It's no trouble at all. Things are coming along faster than I thought. I should have you up and running in no time._

_That's great! I'll have Star bring me by tomorrow so I can see! Thanks again Cy. Night night._

_Night night Nike._

Cyborg sighed deeply and groaned. So much for going to bed early.

--------------------

Short chapter this time. It's been sitting on my hard drive for months, half finished. It was a total mess until the idea of an instant messenger conversation between Batman and Robin hit me. After that I was able to finish it in twenty minutes. And for those of you who don't watch "Justice League", Ray Palmer is The Atom, genius scientist and reserve Leauger.

I don't have any idea where to take this story next. I mean, I have some idea but I don't know if that's the story I want to do anymore. Just like the description says, Nike's "brother" would also show up eventually, but I'm just not even sure about that anymore. I'm open to suggestions folks.

Oh yeah, and to you eclectic sci-fi readers, "Banana Nose Maldonado" and (Dutch)"Schulz" should ring a bell. Expect some of their friends to show up in my writing as the situation permits.


	5. Chapter 5

Teen Titans: Children of a Dynamic God

ch. 5

Some beds have a piece of furniture, not unlike a dresser, that separates them from the wall. This piece of furniture is often called a "headboard", because it sits at the head of the bed. It is not a place to keep your head, or heads.

Unless your new best friend just happens to be a head without a body. In that instance owning a headboard is not only doubly functional but almost poetic.

The first rays of morning light streamed through the cracks in the blinds, traveling over posters of Britney Spears and Jude Law. It glinted off Nike's silver hair. Eyes, half-lidded, fluttered back and forth, up and down in rapid, jerky movements.

The door slid open with a Shooshing noise. Her head hanging low, her body caked with grime and sweat, Starfire stumbled into her room. She let out a soft whimper and flung herself onto her bed.

Nike's eyes opened wide. "Star, oh… don't you want to go take a quick shower? You're getting your sheets filthy."

Starfire groaned and kicked her boots off, then wrapped her sweaty legs around a pillow. "I do not care. I will wash them tomorrow."

"It is tomorrow." Nike said. "I warned you that Robin was going to call a surprise training drill."

"Ooooh, but I could not miss the 'Chaotic' marathon!"

"And I told you I could record it for you! I'm a TiVo too!"

Starfire groaned and writhed around on her bed. Nike grimaced as the sheets turned a darker, muddier shade of hot pink. "I am not worried about that now. I shall sleep for the rest of the day. Ooooh! That Robin can be so… frustrating!"

"What did he do?" Nike tried to make her question sound as innocent as possible. It hadn't taken her long at all to deduce that Robin and Starfire's relationship was almost pitifully sophomoric.

Nike thought, personally, that if you liked someone you should just tell them and let the chips fall where they may. Although she had to admit that she was breaking that rule a little at the moment, but it was a lot tougher to confess your true feelings to someone when you were just a head. When she was a little more… _mobile_, she told herself, then it would be easier to see if he felt the same way about her that she was beginning to fell about him.

Starfire propped her face up on her pillow. The streaks of dirt, if anything, made her even cuter in some way, Nike thought.

"He was worse than ever today! Never has he made me run the obstacle course so many times in one session!"

"Well, I'm sure he had a reason."

"Hmph! He must think I am getting soft! Or fat!"

Starfire gasped, her eyes wide. "Do you think that is it? Does Robin think I have 'the thunder-thighs'?"

"Um, I'm pretty sure he was just putting you through your paces Star. I wouldn't read too much into it."

"Oh no, it is all so obvious now! He had such a look of disgust on his face when Beast Boy challenged me to that pudding eating contest last week. And also the time I ate all the food at the buffet and made the Chinese people who worked there cry! And when we rescued the cows from the evil tofu and Cyborg dared me to eat one raw!.."

Nike tried not to roll her eyes as Starfire spent the next five minutes confessing several months' worth of gastronomic indiscretions. It wasn't boring at least. She was in the midst of breathlessly describing the "delicious shame of covering one's own body in hot English mustard and then licking oneself clean" when she quite suddenly nodded off.

Nike would have breathed a sigh of relief if she could. She hoped she would have a body soon, as now would be the perfect time to pull the covers over the too-adorable sleeping girl and then hastily retreat before she could wake up and continue her desperate diatribe.

Nike closed her eyes, her consciousness slowly drifting down, down into a realm unknowable to human minds. It would take her some time to again reach the state of quiet light speed contemplation and processing that Starfire had interrupted her from, but it was already happening. Through half-closed eyes she watched as the alien girl's chest rose and fell slower and slower, until it seemed to stop moving altogether. Out of the corner of her eye Nike saw a fly hanging in the air, it's wings moving so slowly that she could make out every detail of the veins in it's membranes.

Nike opened her thoughts to the flow of information gleaned from the Tower's WiFi network. Simultaneously she found her consciousness in a defense satellite in low orbit, in an Asian server network and in a Blackberry stuffed into the back pocket of a middle-aged roofer in Kentucky. Pure data washed over her virtual self warmly from ten billion sources.

Words did not exist to describe how sublime a feeling it was.

"TITANS ASSEMBLE! THIS IS NOT A DRILL!" Robin's voice boomed over the intercom. Nike's eyes shot open. Her brow furrowed in irritation. Was it impossible for a girl to get a few moments to herself around here?

"EMERGENCY SITUATION! TITANS ASSEMBLE! THIS IS NOT A DRILL!" Starfire shot up straight, a look of surprise in her red, bloodshot eyes. She looked at Nike and whimpered.

"Oh Star, it's not so bad. Come on, get up. Oh, don't cry hon. Come one, you can do it. That's right, one boot at a time. You're almost there."

----------

Jinx tapped her foot and yawned as a screaming throng ran past her and out the door of the department store. A teenaged girl bolted towards her at full bore, too panicked to see where she was going. A flick of Jinx's wrist and the girl tripped over her own feet and went sliding across the floor. The little pink-haired witch didn't even turn around to watch as the girl collided with the edge of the glass door, busting open her scalp. A security guard scooped her bleeding body up and forced his way through the throng.

"They're late." Jinx sneered. "And here I thought the Titans were morning people."

"They'll be here, stick to the plan." Gizmo was sitting cross-legged on the perfume counter, typing furiously into his weird little laptop. "I've been working this out for months now, they'll never see it coming."

"Hey Billy, check out this new TV I found!"

"Sheeeoot! That's a nice one Billy! Hi-Def?"

"Of course! But don't tell Billy, it's a surprise."

"Hey that's right, Billy's birthday is coming up ain't it? I almost forgot!"

"Yeah, let's get all our shopping done today! You think Billy'll like these designer watches?"

"Heck yeah, and if he don't I'll take 'em!"

"Knock it off you idiots and give me a hand with this safe." See-more yelled. "Pull it out of the wall so I can cut it apart!"

"I gotcha See-More." Mammoth said in his gravely voice. He dug his hand into the wall and pulled the safe free with ease. See-More yelped and jumped back as it clanged to the floor near his feet.

"Umm, thanks big guy." See-More adjusted the dial on his visor and started bruning through the safe.

Mammoth stalked over to Jinx and slumped against the wall with a sigh, crushing the drywall behind him. "When are they gonna get here? I'm bored."

"What, looting the swankiest retail store in town isn't exciting enough for you?" Jinx said. She studied her fingernails under the glare of the fluorescent lights.

"This place? Nah. The new guys are enjoying themselves but I still say we shoulda' hit a Wal-Mart. They got these big tubs of caramel popcorn there." The hulking teenager grinned down at his diminutive partner.

Jinx couldn't help but smile a bit. Out of all her teammates, only Mammoth could ever lighten her mood. Once she realized that there was absolutely no subtext in anything he said she found that it was next to impossible to respond to him with anything but equal sincerity.

"Hey Billy, check out these new golf clubs!"

"Those sure are nice Billy! They'll go great with my new plaid pants!"

"Hey Billy, check out these stockings! Ain't they sheer?"

"Um, Billy. We need to have a talk."

"Yeah Billy. We've been noticing lately that the stuff you've been stealing is… well, kinda girly."

"And Billy told us that he caught you… you know, tryin' on those dresses at the hideout."

"Oh god, Billy saw me? … It was just one time. I was just curious!"

"Hey, hey… it's okay Billy. You're just going through a tough time right now."

"Yeah Billy. Admitting you have a problem is the first step towards recovery."

"Yeah Billy, we'll help you through this… together."

"Oh Billy… You're the best friend I ever had!"

"Hey scrumbuckets, front and center!" Gizmo screamed out. "I'm tracking the Titans and they just entered the building!"

"Thank Christ!" Jinx grumbled. "Another few minutes of 'Billy Numerous subconscious dinner theatre' and I'd have had to kill him on principal."

"Okay, now stick to the plan! They'll be expecting us to try and escape with our loot, not fight back. Just keep them tied up as long as possible." Gizmo said. "I need all the time you can give me."

Just then the elevator dinged. The Hive Five turned as one toward it just as the doors buckled and flew off in a terrific explosion. Mammoth pulled Jinx behind him. One of the doors collided with his back as he turned. The huge teenager grunted as it cracked in two against him.

Jinx dived between his legs and unleashed a flurry of hex bolts towards the elevator. They impacted with a ball of transparent black energy and dissipated. Behind her shield, Raven floated out of the elevator shaft, looking more than a little menacing.

See-More's hand flew up to his visor as he took aim. Before he could fire on Raven the air conditioning vent above him popped open. A green and black furry creature landed on his head. See-More screamed and swatted at, knocking it away. It landed at his feet. He swung his visor down and took aim.

See-More had time for one regretful groan before he received a face full of skunk juice. Gagging and coughing, he stumbled back and collapsed in a vomiting heap on the floor.

"Oh god, it's in my nose! HWAAAARF!" He could have sworn he heard the little green skunk giggling as it scampered away.

----------

_Alright Beast Boy! That was awesome!_ Nike cried out in glee.

She was floating in a virtual environment made entirely of data. In here she had no mobility problems. A golden, glowing body drifted within a sea of information. Huge glimmering wings trailed behind her for hundreds of feet, catching and sifting data like a net.

Numerous security camera feeds floated in the web of her feathery wings. In a process that could only exist in a conceptual digital world, such as the one Nike found herself in, they flowed into the back of her head in silvery threads.

For all intents and purposes, Nike was in the department store, in the very same room as the Titans. Raw camera feeds plus blueprints she had found for the building plus the signals from all the Titans' communicators had allowed her to build a virtual environment.

Three Billies ran right through her, heading for Raven. She turned around just in time to see Robin bust in through the window, just like she knew he would, and knock all three of them unconscious with blinding speed.

_Robin!_ Nike cried out. The Teen Wonder didn't see Mammoth rushing towards his back. One blow from the behemoth would be enough to smear Robin's fragile body all over the floor.

She needn't have worried. Almost on cue the ceiling collapsed on the lumbering hulk. As if that wasn't bad enough, Starfire was right behind the falling debris. She hit Mammoth from above with all the force of a train. The two crashed through the floor, and then another, and then another if the sounds from below were any indication.

Unfortunately that was enough to cut the electricity to all the camers on that floor. The room dimmed, almost to the point of total blackness. The Titans themselves, thanks to their trackers, were still visible, but the Hive Five were rapidly disappearing from Nike's view.

Frustrated, she opened her mind even more, throwing as much processing power as she could into the task, but she knew it was futile. Another few seconds and they would blink out completely. There just wasn't enough information to create any accurate models for whatever actions they might take next.

Nike scowled in irritation. Little fishlike creatures made of gleaming information scurried away from her. They swam around aimlessly, finally finding a new stream of data to merge with.

This wasn't fair! She wanted to be there with them! It wasn't fair that her new friends were risking their lives while all she could do was sit back and watch!

_I'm not totally useless. I could bite some ankles at least!_

Nike sighed and let the now dead feeds drift free from her glowing wings. The Titans could handle themselves. There was more information to tend to.

In fact, there was a little conundrum bumping against her thigh. She picked it up and saw that it was a logical paradox. A rather knotty one, born from the virtual environment she had been drifting in just a few moments before.

And at it's center was all the information she had registered from Gizmo.

----------

Cyborg kicked the stairwell door open. A quick glance confirmed everything was well in hand. Raven and Jinx were going full sorceress on each other, neither able to gain the upper hand which was usual when the two of them fought. Robin was busy creating a twitching pile of Billies with his bo staff. The robotic teen almost felt sorry for See-More. The skinny criminal was covered in his own vomit from chin to belt. Not to mention that a green grizzly bear was lazily batting him back and forth like a beach ball.

Cyborg felt the building shudder under his feet, as if a grenade has detonated several floors below. Star was still slugging it out with Mammoth obviously. That left one more villain who needed to be dealt with. The most dangerous and unpredictable of all the Hive Five if you asked Cyborg.

"Hey Snotlicker!" Gizmo called from the perfume counter he was standing on. "I want a piece of you!"

"You know, you can cuss like a real person if you want." Cyborg said, his right arm shifting into it's sonic cannon configuration. "I won't tell your mama!"

"My mama's a saint! Don't you say a thing about her!" Gizmo pulled a pair of small pistols from behind his back and leveled them at Cyborg.

Cyborg dove forward and unleashed a blast of concentrated sonic waves at the runty villain. Gizmo dodged it and rolled behind the counter. Strangely enough, he didn't fire either of his pistols.

"I'm sorry, are you a little sensitive about your fat mama!" Cyborg edged his way up to the counter. Of all the Hive Five, Gizmo was the last one you'd want to underestimate. Cyborg was ready to drop the midget at the first sign of motion.

"Stop talking about my mama you reject Go-Bot!" Still no movement from behind the counter.

"Hey, I'm a Transformers man, shrimp!" Cyborg edged forward more and more. Another second and he could rush the counter and flood it with a sonic blast. "Just ask your mama, she'll tell you there's more to me than meets the eye!"

Silence, and then laughter from behind the counter. Maniacal, frantic laughter. Cyborg was unnerved. He had never heard this from Gizmo before.

"You think you're so smart don't you tin man? You really screwed up this time. You just screwed up your whole life and you don't even know it yet!"

Cyborg sneered. He'd had enough of this. He dove between the counters, his huge polymer shoulders smashing into a glass case, knocking the entire cabinet across the floor. His sonic cannon flashed, discharging enough energy to send Gizmo through the wall.

Only, when the smoke cleared, Gizmo was still standing there. Cyborg blinked and readied another shot as the diminuitive criminal doubled over in laughter. He actually fell on his back laughing, his stubby legs kicking in the air like a dying spider.

Cyborg growled and threw his fist at Gizmo. It passed through him like he was a ghost, the momentum sending Cyborg smashing into another cabinet.

A hologram.

_Cyborg! Something's wrong! It's Gizmo!_ Nike's voice flowed into Cyborg's brain through the Titans communicator.

_Yeah, I know. He's got a hologram! The little runt tricked me and now he's probably got me pinned down behind this counter, waiting to blast me the second I pop my head up!_ Cyborg could have kicked himself.

_No, you don't understand!_ It was only then that Cyborg noticed the panic in Nike's voice. _He's in the tower!_

--------------------

Wow, It's like I'm never going to get this story finished. I finally figured out how I want the arc to go, I have an ending. Hopefully I'll get it done sometime before spring.

I also went through and reformatted the previous chapters. They should have clearly defined section breaks now so go check them out.

Short chapter this time. Don't worry, Nike's going to get her body soon. -Rex


End file.
